Fund offers grant to wildlife refuge

The International Fund for Animal Welfare has said it will give Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge near Eureka Springs a $40,000 grant if it can raise an additional $40,000 in matching funds from other donors, according to a news release.

The money will be used to build cages for big cats the refuge is taking in from Riverglen Tiger Shelter near Mountainburg, the release said.

In November, Turpentine Creek began a drive to raise $238,000 so it could adopt 34 big cats from Riverglen. Tanya Smith, president of Turpentine Creek, said $125,000 has been raised so far.

Turpentine Creek has adopted 19 animals from Riverglen, and another four went to a Kansas conservatory.

Riverglen has 11 cats left, all of them tigers.

Smith said she hopes to move the remaining tigers to the refuge within the next month.

Betty Young, owner of Riverglen, previously told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette she wanted to keep 10 tigers, but on Tuesday she said she plans to give all of the remaining cats to Turpentine Creek.

Young, 62, has health problems and walks with a crutch.

“They’re all going up there,” she said. “I can’t keep any. I can’t take care of them.”

The Fine Art of Romance, a Eureka Springs lingerie store, has donated $5,000 in matching funds to help build the new cages, Smith said. Elise Roenigk, owner of the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, also plans to make a matching donation, the release stated.